Deceiving Appearances
by ItsThatCarbyLovin
Summary: Chapter Five - This is hopefully the moment you've beeen waiting for. Pg-13 for language.
1. Deja Vu

Deceiving Appearances  
  
Author - Nicole  
  
Category - Humor/Romance MSR  
  
Disclaimer - Yup, Mulder's mine, Scully is too, Madison Daison belongs to 1013. right. if it means that much to you, reverse that. Slight spoilers for Arcadia, Takes place somewhere in late season six early season seven.  
  
I started this story a long time ago after seeing Arcadia when it first aired. I stumbled upon it recently and decided to fix it up. Please review it if you want me to continue!  
  
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Mulder and Scully walked into Skinners office early Friday morning, while in front of Kimberly's desk they noticed a teenaged redhead in a suit sitting quietly, reading a novel. She looked up and smiled briefly, Scully smiled back and they continued to walk in.  
  
"Good morning agents"  
  
"Good morning" both replied unenthusiastically.  
  
"Alright, I'm sure you two remember the falls of Arcadia case a year or so ago, correct?"  
  
"How could I forget" Scully rolled her eyes, Skinner handed her a manila folder.  
  
"Well, there is a similar pre-planned community Buena Tierra, Outside of Orlando Florida. It appears that teenagers have been disappearing frequently. With no trace."  
  
"And this is an X-file?" Mulder questioned  
  
"Well you see, these kids only start disappearing if they rebel somehow, baggy pant, colorful hair, piercing and bad music blaring out of their bedrooms."  
  
"Kids like that run away you know." Scully said slightly annoyed, not liking the sound of the case  
  
"But regardless of the way these teens looked, most weren't unhappy, matter- of-fact, a bunch were honor roll students who threw on a pair of chuck Taylor's and got a lip ring or something"  
  
"Chuck Taylor's. so comfortable" Mulder was growing bored  
  
"So, what exactly are we doing?" Scully tried to cover her partner.  
  
"I don't know if you noticed the young girl sitting outside my office. That's Special Agent Madison Daison. She was a gifted student, graduated high school and got through Quantico by the time she was 16. She's been here for 6 months. She'll be playing your daughter. She'll start out an average kid, then over the course of a week she'll dress and act out more and more. I'm sure you know what to do after that" the Agents nodded in response.  
  
"I want you to get started immediately, get Agent Daison on your way out. "  
  
"I'm picking out the names this time" Scully stated dryly as they walked through the door. She was more excited about this case then she was letting off. Her fondness of Mulder and maternal instincts making her want to play house.  
  
They reached Madison she looked down shyly, placed her novel in her messenger bag and got up.  
  
"I take it you two are Mulder and Scully" She smiled "I'm sure AD Skinner told you but I'm Madison Daison, you can call me Daison or Maddie, I don't really care." She extended her hand, Mulder shook it.  
  
"Well hello Maddie, Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you Maddie, I like your nose stud" Scully pointed to the little gem over Maddie's right nostril. She giggled.  
  
The walked got in Mulder's car and drove Maddie to her house, she lived in DC with her Parents and siblings, the car ride was a chance to learn further about the young agent.  
  
"You must be brilliant, how did you get through school so quickly?"  
  
"Well, When I was four my parents put me through placement testing, I had the competency of a fifth grader and a ninth grade reading level. It was strange being five and in fifth grade. I guess I just love to learn. I jumped from grade to grade quickly, I graduated high school at 11 years old. I obtained masters degree in Psychology at Bridgewater State College. I went to Quantico soon after that"  
  
"Why such a small school?" Scully questioned  
  
"I grew up in Massachusetts, Lynn to be exact. My parents couldn't afford special schools for me. Being noticed as a special kid in a City like that, it led to teasing. When I was in high school I got thrown into trash barrels. That didn't phase me much, but after that I decided I wanted to go to a small town for college. I liked it there, I felt more accepted." After hearing her location, her Boston accent became more noticeable.  
  
"I'm going to assume your whole family moved here when you went to Quantico? Tell us about them?" Mulder decided to question further, disregarding a look from Scully.  
  
"Yeah, they were a little over protective of their fourteen year old becoming an agent. It took a lot of fighting with the system to get this far. Not a lot of people can perceive that I am a lot smarter then I let off. Anyway, my family? I have a mom, Sarah, my dad, Bob, My little sister Alison, we call her Allie and my older brother Jameson, we call him Jim. He's a senior in high school and a little envious of me"  
  
"I guess your parents like "Son" names." Mulder deadpanned.  
  
"Yeah and. wow I don't know your first name to shoot something back at you" She glared.  
  
Scully laughed "Throwing stones at Glass houses are we Fox?" Mulder shot an evil look at Scully.  
  
"I'm not even going to say anything about that one, Mulder" Maddie smiled they pulled up to two floor colonial house.  
  
Mulder smiled "We'll be back in two hours, we have to catch a plane in four" She nodded and hopped out of the car.  
  
"Not even cool, Scully"  
  
"I know, I'm sorry. you set yourself up there"  
  
"She seems like a nice kid"  
  
"Yes, I just hope she's not afraid of near death experiences. We have a tendency to drag people into those" She stared out the window.  
  
TWO HOURS LATER  
  
Mulder and Scully drove up to the young girl's house. She walked out of the house with a big rolling suitcase. She was dressed in flare legged jeans, white chuck Taylor's, and a yellow "Ecko Red" sweatshirt. Mulder studied the girl, she was very pretty, about five feet tall with short reddish brown hair that was angled to be short in the back and longer in the front. She could easily pass as their daughter. He would never speak of it but secretly hoped that someday he and Scully would have a daughter like that.  
  
Scully interrupted his train of thoughts, "Mulder pop the trunk for her" Maddie put her suitcase in the trunk and sat in the backseat.  
  
"Long time no see, thanks for picking me up"  
  
"Not a problem, So Scully any thoughts on our alias'?"  
  
"Yes, I have them all picked out. Mulder your Nick Lynnfield, I'm Carmen Lynnfield and Maddie, your Soleil Lynnfield"  
  
"Way to name me after the girl who played Punky Brewster and A suburb of where I grew up" Maddie laughed "I'm kidding, I like it"  
  
"I don't look like a Nick" Mulder whined  
  
"I didn't look like a Laura Petrie either"  
  
They soon got to the airport and about two hours later arrived in Orlando. After a fight with a car rental person at Budget they got a Caravan and drove off to Buena Tierra  
  
"How nauseatingly soccer mom" Maddie Scoffed  
  
"I agree with her Mulder" Scully smiled  
  
" Well that's just too bad isn't it? Maybe we'll have to enroll our little Soleil into soccer, so it will make sense"  
  
"Um, no. I played freshman JV soccer in High school and nearly got killed"  
  
"Were you any good?"  
  
"Not at all, I'm short as it is, I was a midget compared to everyone else at that age, they trampled me!" She chuckled.  
  
They pulled into the driveway of a white ranch style house. The moving truck had beat them their.  
  
"Aw crap I forgot to pack my bedroom" Maddie said sarcastically  
  
Scully laughed "I wonder what the Bureau packed for us this time"  
  
They got out of the car and started to load things out of the truck. With the help of some movers, they were done by 7:00pm. 'Apparently this planned community doesn't have as strict of rules. just kid killers" Mulder thought.  
  
Soon their neighbors started to come to the door. The Bakers were first.  
  
"Hello, you must be our new neighbors! Well well! Let me introduce myself I'm Carla Baker, this is my husband Marc and this is our lovely son Tim" she grabbed the hand of the small boy who looked completely terrified.  
  
"Hi, I'm Carmen Lynnfield. This is my husband Nick and our daughter Soleil." She put her hand on Maddie's shoulder.  
  
:"Nice to meet you" Maddie said sheepishly.  
  
"How convenient, moving here during summer vacation! What grade are you going into Soleil?"  
  
"I gra- Um I'm gonna be a junior" Her junior came out as Joon-ya. Maddie blushed at her obvious accent.  
  
"Is that a Boston accent I hear?"  
  
"No, no. we're from outside of Miami. Our little Sol likes to try out different accents. She's going to make a great actress someday"  
  
"Yeah, I had to be from Boston in my last school play" Maddie said nervously.  
  
"That's WONDERFUL! Well I hope to see you all again soon, I must be tending to dinner, can't let little Timmy starve you know!" The enthusiastic lady said 'you wouldn't even know with how skinny that little boy is' Scully thought sarcastically. They waved and closed the door. Mulder laughed at Maddie.  
  
"What?" she put her hands on her hips and cocked her head.  
  
"You gotta go pahk ya cah?" He teased.  
  
"Shut up its not that bad is it, Scully?"  
  
She smiled and said, "No, I can't believe that lady even noticed"  
  
They sat on the couch; Maddie sat on the coffee table changing the batteries in her CD player.  
  
Mulder then felt it was time to change the subject. "Maddie, how are you going to go upon making yourself noticed in the neighborhood?"  
  
She smiled, these people didn't know her at all.  
  
"Well, first off I'm going to change my nose stud to a ring. Then I'll start wearing my Lime green chucks instead these boring white one. I also have my black ones packed if I need them. After that, I'll start wearing my normal clothes."  
  
"Aren't those normal clothes?" Scully pointed to her outfit.  
  
"Hardly." She opened up her suitcase and pulled out a pair of black pants with red trim big enough to cover ones feet "These are my favorite pants, I got them at hot topic for Christmas. Then she pulled out a red tank top with black fishnet arms barely connected. "Along with this, I got it when I went to Harvard Square earlier in the year"  
  
"Wow, I never would've expected."  
  
"That a child prodigy like myself would dress like a Goth? I know, I hear it all the time. I get dirty looks from people while I'll hang out at the mall with my friends in Massachusetts. And in my head I'm thinking, wow, I'm doing these peoples dream jobs and they think I'm just scum. Isn't life ironic?"  
  
"I guess it is" Scully said in surprise.  
  
"Enough about me, we've been talking about me all day. Tell me about yourselves"  
  
"What do you want to know?" Mulder raised an eyebrow  
  
"How long have you two worked together?"  
  
"Since 1993" Scully Smiled  
  
"Wow. are you guys involved or anything."  
  
"No!" they both said in unison 'But I wish we were' thought Scully, she didn't know Mulder was thinking the same.  
  
Maddie was kind of weirded out by the quickness of the responses "um, ok. Well, tell me, what was your most interesting case?"  
  
"Well, we had to go to Texas to investigate a whole bunch of things, we ended up running through a bee dome, then, they tried to close down the X- files. When I was trying to convince Scully to stay in D.C rather then go to Salt Lake City, she got stung by one of the bees. It infected her with a Virus and we ended up in Antarctica." Mulder smiled. Maddie looked at him wondering why he seemed so nostalgic. She noticed Scully smirking too.  
  
"And then we returned to DC with no proof." Scully said bitterly.  
  
"Wow. That's unbelievable. I'm going to go to bed now. See you tomorrow" Maddie put her stuff back in her suitcase and walked to her room, her CD player remained on the coffee table. 'Nothing going on between them my ass'  
Mulder and Scully stayed on the couch engulfed in their own thought. Remembering all those times they had nearly lost each other. Mulder decided to say something.  
  
"That day scared the crap out of me"  
  
Scully was startled "huh?"  
  
"I thought I was going to lose you. Then I almost did"  
  
"Yeah, we never really talked about that"  
  
"We should"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Just not today"  
  
"I agree"  
  
They sat for a few more moments in thoughtful silence this time Scully spoke up.  
  
"I'm still bothered by Bumblebees"  
  
Mulder decided to tread on thin ice, " What do you think would've happened.?"  
  
"If...?" she avoided the question  
  
"The bee didn't sting you"  
  
"Oh" She looked uncomfortable 'I would've had the happiest moment of my life!' her mind screamed. She didn't realize she had said it until she looked at Mulder smiling.  
  
"There's no bee's around" he turned towards her.  
  
"I know" she murmured as he cupped her face. He began to lean in. She turned away for a second. 'Damn it all!' he thought. Then she turned to face him again, before he could, she lent in. She brushed her lips against his. He kissed her back. They were becoming more and more passionate, they didn't notice the door open, but they did notice a tiny gasp from Maddie.  
  
"Um, yeah. I forgot my CD player. uh sorry" She picked it up and started back to her room.  
  
"You guys are sucky liars!" She laughed before closing her bedroom door.  
  
Mulder looked at Scully who was smiling like he'd never seen before.  
  
"So where do we go from here?"  
  
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Well there you are, part one. Please review! that's what will keep this story alive. Constructive criticism is always welcomed. Flames are a waste so don't bother with them.  
  
-Nikka 


	2. Don't Be Fooled

Deceiving Appearances - Chapter Two: Don't be fooled.  
  
Disclaimer - I don't own the x-files, Mulder or Scully. 1013 does. I do own Maddie, Radison and Cami. You can borrow them if you want.  
  
First off, I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews. Sorry if anyone thought my characters were OOC. Like the name of this chapter, don't be fooled, this story isn't as fluffy as I let off. And also just to clear up any confusion on Chuck Taylor's, they're those basketball shoes (converse all stars to be exact) with the white rubber toes, very comfortable, I suggest you buy a pair. Well that's enough from me, here's chapter two!  
  
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That smile faded. She suddenly felt a sharp pounding in her head. She had lost herself for a minute, it could lead to changes too severe. Friend, of course. Partner, definitely. Lover, that couldn't possibly work out. The FBI frowned upon fraternizing, the x-files was always in jeopardy as it was. She couldn't follow through with this right now.  
  
Mulder looked at Scully, why wasn't she responding? He noticed her brow furrow, her eyes darted around the room. This was panic, he didn't see her do that often.  
  
"I gotta go get some air. Yeah. I'll be back" She stood up and briskly walked out the front door leaving Mulder in shock.  
  
He stared at the door in awe. What was wrong? Should he go after her. No probably not. Scully was always the independent type, she didn't want his help or support. Why had he made moves on her? He didn't want to deal with this right now, too much pain. He'd worry about it when he woke up. Mulder swung his feet up and fell asleep on the couch.  
  
Scully walked at a brisk pace down the dark street. It was 11:00 o'clock and the whole neighborhood seemed asleep. Her mind was racing. 'I can't keep having these feelings for him. Its not right, so unprofessional, so unlike myself' She sighed 'But that was some kiss, that kind of passion doesn't come from just friends. What the hell is going to become of this?' her thoughts were interrupted by a woman approaching her from behind.  
  
"Hi! What are you doing out so late"  
  
"Just taking a walk, I like to get my walking in at night"  
  
"At 11:30? In high heels?" Scully looked at her feet, she hadn't realized she still had her skirt and pumps on.  
  
"Oh, umm. yeah. Anyway, I'm Carmen Lynnfield, I just moved in down the street" She changed the subject  
  
"Oh! You're our new neighbor! I'm Sandra Foreman. Carla told me all about you! You have the daughter with the nose ring" She scrunched up her face in disapproval.  
  
"Oh yes, Soleil. She can be a bit of a rebel at times. I don't mind though, she's just a teen."  
  
"I see. Lets just hope she doesn't rebel too much. Don't want to make the neighborhood look bad right!?" She laughed at her halfhearted joke.  
  
"Right. Well I must be getting back to my family now. I'll catch up with you later Sandra"  
  
"Defiantly, see you later Carmen" She waved and kept walking as Scully turned around.  
  
Something was weird about this neighborhood indeed. Scully sighed and walked back to the house. Hoping she could avoid Mulder on the way in. She lucked-out he had fallen asleep on the couch, a look of misery on his face. She felt truly horrible. Not wanting to admit to what was obviously there. Fear being her only set back. She didn't want to think anymore. She walked into the bedroom and went to bed. Not having to worry until morning.  
  
Day Two - Morning  
  
"Good Morning! Haha, how'd you guys sleep last night. if at all" Maddie sat at the kitchen table stirring her cup of coffee. She was greeted with uncomfortable silence.  
  
Mulder looked up first "Oh hey Maddie. What's up?"  
  
She raised an eyebrow at him "Uh, nothing. I think I'm going to the mall today. My friend Cami, who moved to Orlando a year ago, is driving to a mall here to see me."  
  
"You didn't tell her about the case did you?" You could hear concern in his voice.  
  
"No! Don't be silly. I told her I'm staying with my aunt and uncle for a week"  
  
"Oh. okay. Don't hint you're on a case. That could lead to trouble."  
  
"I'm not an idiot Mulder. Is this all okay with you Scully?"  
  
Scully looked up slightly startled "Yeah, that's fine. Need a ride?"  
  
"No, it's only like three blocks away, plus its nice out. I'll walk" Maddie felt a little awkward and decided to go back to her room before receiving a response.  
  
Maddie left the house about two hours later. She was wearing Lime green sneakers, Black UFO pants that she could fit three of herself in, a black tank top and a Lime green fishnet over it. Scully looked her over 'She may dress funny, but she does know how to coordinate'  
  
"I'm going to guess, Cami dresses like you too huh Maddie?" Mulder asked  
  
"More or less, she's more of a raver though"  
  
"Raver?"  
  
"Yeah, you know, goes to raves, burns her brain out on ecstasy, wears really bright colors. that kind of thing. Not really my style, but she's cool once you get to know her"  
  
"Oh, great. sounds healthy, Have fun" Maddie waved and walked out of the house.  
  
"Hey, um Scully?"  
  
Scully looked up from a book she was reading "yes?"  
  
"You don't think anything's gonna get her yet do you?"  
  
"I doubt it, not in broad daylight. when did the file say that these kids were taken?"  
  
"I'm not entirely sure. I'll find out" He went and got the case file. He read out loud "It appears that most of the disappearances occurred in between 10:00pm and 6:00am"  
  
She shrugged "She'll be fine then, but I'm going to pick her up anyway, we have to be prepared for anything weird to happen" She got out her cell phone and dialed Maddie's Number.  
  
Meanwhile, Maddie, Cami and some of her friends walked into a deserted Hot Topic at Buena Tierra Shopping Center.  
  
"Mad, what is up with this place? Hot topic is empty and we're getting stared at like we're aliens or something"  
  
"Camilla, you don't even know. At my Aunts neighborhood, children look out their windows and point at me. and my hair is my natural color." Cami laughed and fluffed her blue hair. She was about to say something as a cell phone rang.  
  
"Oh that's me. Daison speaking"  
  
Scully was on the line "Hey Maddie"  
  
"Oh, hey *Auntie* Carmen, what's up?"  
  
"Ha, I take it your with your friends"  
  
"Yeah, we're being stared at by everyone. its kinda creepy"  
  
"I figured, and because of that either me or Mulder is going to pick you up. We need to be around you just incase anything happens"  
  
"Alright, Can one of you get me in like an hour then?"  
  
"Sure, I'll see you then" She said bye and hung up.  
  
Mulder then sat next to Scully on the couch. She squirmed a bit and looked at him.  
  
"Hey" he half smiled  
  
"Hi" She half smiled back.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to pressure you into anything"  
  
"It wasn't just you. It takes two people to kiss" She said coldly.  
  
"Yeah, but I mean, I upset you and I'm pissed at myself for that"  
  
"I'm not upset" She sighed "I'm just. not ready"  
  
"Not ready for what?"  
  
"For this relationship, just everything that goes along with it"  
  
He glanced at the clock, it was almost time to go.  
  
"Well, I'll be here when you're ready. I have to go get Maddie" He got up and left. She wished there were more she could say.  
  
Later in the evening they had some Chinese delivered to the house. The tension between Mulder and Scully had faded to the point were Maddie couldn't notice. Mulder and Scully both could but they pushed it aside. Maddie picked at her rice "So why did you guys decide to join the x-files?"  
  
"I didn't, I was assigned to it, to give Mulder a rational side to his theories" Scully smiled  
  
"That's great. Mulder did that anger you?"  
  
"At first yeah, but its helped a lot more then I thought" He smiled at Scully  
  
"Mulder, what motivated you to join the x-files?" Scully glanced at Mulder, this could hit a soft spot.  
  
"I believe that the government is hiding something and I'm determined to find it" He had left out his sister's abduction to Scully's surprise.  
  
"Maddie, what made you want to be an agent"  
  
Maddie's expression went down "You don't wanna know, its depressing"  
  
"Sure I do"  
  
"Alright" She hesitated briefly before she walked over to the couch and picked up her messenger bag, she took her wallet out of it and walked back to the table. She opened the wallet and gingerly pulled out a 3x5-color photo and then carefully handed it to Scully, who could tell it was important to her. Scully studied the photo, it was two girls about four or five years old the same blue tank tops. They appeared to be identical twins except one had a short curly mop of red hair, it was obviously Maddie and the other had the same curly style except in light blonde.  
  
"You were adorable." Maddie smiled and nodded "Who is the other girl?" Scully asked softly.  
  
"That's my twin sister Radison, like the hotel." She laughed nervously.  
  
"You didn't mention her earlier"  
  
"I know. Raysi and I were fraternal twins as you can tell by the hair. When we were five we were put into placement testing. We both were 5th grade level. The day before we were to start school, she was kidnapped. My parents, the cops, everyone looked for her. Her body was found in New Hampshire 3 months later. We never found out who did it. So my purpose in life is to find out who took my twin and make sure they are punished like they deserve." Maddie smiled solemnly you could see tears forming in her eyes.  
  
"Wow, Maddie I'm so sorry"  
  
"Don't worry about it. You didn't do anything. I'm gonna go to my room now" She walked away. She didn't realize how much it hurt to talk about her sister. She hadn't done it often.  
  
Scully knew how she felt. She still had a hard time talking about Melissa. Mulder had a hard time with Samantha. She decided to go talk to her.  
  
"Mulder, I'm going to talk to her. maybe you should too." She said gently.  
  
"Yeah" They got up and walked to Maddie's room. Inside loud strange sounding music was playing. Scully knocked on the door.  
  
"Come in" She turned the volume down.  
  
"Hey, what are you listening to?" Mulder questioned  
  
"Mindless Self Indulgence, it's a song called Bed of Roses"  
  
"Oh, cool. Scully and I were wondering if you're ok"  
  
"Yeah I'm fine, why?"  
  
He took a deep breath "Well I lied to you"  
  
"How so?" she raised an eyebrow  
  
"When I was a teenager, my younger sister Samantha was abducted. Right in front of me. My whole goal in life is to find her. Find out the truth. That's why I joined the X-files"  
  
Maddie stared at him in surprise. "Wow I never would have figured"  
  
Scully spoke up "A few years ago, my sister Melissa was also murdered. in my own home."  
  
Maddie didn't know what to say. "I guess I have more in common with you both then I had thought," she said in a low almost whisper.  
  
They continued to talk for a little while longer. They didn't notice the dark figure outside of Maddie's window.  
  
"Sweet little Soleil, just a little too odd to maintain a nice image. Rest well, for you may not tomorrow night."  
  
It watched Maddie fall asleep.  
  
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Suspenseful isn't it? Right. Well I hope that was a tad more in character. If not, well I tried. Please leave me a review. Oh yeah, I don't own Mindless Self Indulgence even though I really wish I did. Download Bed of Roses by them, it's a great song.  
  
-Nikka 


	3. Sour Girl

Deceiving Appearances Chapter Three - Sour Girl  
  
Disclaimer - I don't own Mulder or Scully. I don't own the TV show Friends, or any of the Musicians mentioned. Maddie and Project dance are mine. Don't ask just read.  
  
Hey everyone! I'm so sorry this took so long to update. I've been sitting here for the past three weeks not at all sure where to go with this. I have it most of the way figured out now so I hope you all enjoy.  
  
This takes place sometime in the afternoon on day three. Just so no ones lost.  
  
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Mulder was woken up from a mid-afternoon nap to music. Rather old music at that, it sounded like Motown. He walked down the hall to Maddie's room, apparently the source of the music. The door was open. He peered in and saw the young girl in pink pajamas standing in front of a mirror putting her hair into short pigtails singing.  
  
"Whenever I'm with him ooh ooh, something inside, inside, starts to burn me ooh ohh and I feel with desire, could it be a devil in me or is this the way loves supposed to be? its like a heatwave! A heatwave!" Maddie was singing surprisingly well to the Vandella's Song while she moved her shoulders perfectly to the beat. 'The girl has rhythm' He said as he chuckled softly. Maddie heard this and turned around abruptly in shock.  
  
She blushed violently "Oh my frigging head. Don't scare me like that!"  
  
"Well, well, Agent Madison Daison, hardcore extraordinaire is listening to 60's rhythm and blues. Who would've thought?"  
  
She put a barrette in her hair and regained her dignity. "Well Agent I- assume-everything Fox Mulder" He gave her a look for using his first name "I actually listen to all kinds of music, here look" She tossed her CD book at him, hard.  
  
It hit him in the chest, "Nice throw" He opened it up and flipped through her CD's He saw Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine, Stone Temple Pilots, Mindless Self Indulgence and Marilyn Manson.  
  
"These seem rather Rock like to me"  
  
"Keep looking"  
  
He flipped through the pages some more, a few mix disks, JaRule, Grateful Dead, Phish, Every TLC CD, Billie Holiday, a Rent soundtrack, Godspell and a few mix disks.  
  
"I stand corrected. You've got some good stuff."  
  
"Heh, Thanks. When you have an Ex-Hippie dad and a disco queen mom you become very musically diverse as you grow up I suppose"  
  
Scully entered the room "Getting a lesson on music are we Mulder?"  
  
"Sure am" He smiled  
  
"I need to get dressed so this lessons over." Maddie waved her hands to motion them out.  
  
They left her room and went their separate ways, Scully to the shower and Mulder to the couch. Maddie continued to put on black eye make up and spiked jewelry. She put on miss matched green and black sneakers. Her cut off dickies showed them off, her bondage shirt and red glittery belt added the effect she wanted. 'There goes the neighborhood' she thought to herself.  
  
~-~-~-~ Later that afternoon ~-~-~-~-~  
  
Scully walked into the living room. She saw Mulder napping on the couch. 'He sleeps a lot' she smiled. They had been acting as if the other night had not happened. She knew damn well that it did. She wanted to talk more about it, perhaps make things less awkward. The time would come, she knew it was best to focus on this case and not on her personal life. She noticed her stomach rumbling. It was time to wake him up.  
  
"Mulder, wake up" She said softly  
  
Mulder stirred slightly. He heard her voice, 'Such a great voice' he thought to himself.  
  
"Oh hey Scully what's up?" he sat up.  
  
"Are you hungry?"  
  
"When aren't I"  
  
"Well, we've eaten in for the past two nights. How about we all go out."  
  
"Sounds good, I'll be ready in a sec, go get Maddie" He smiled.  
  
Scully went to Maddie's door and knocked. Maddie said to come in. She opened the door and saw the TV; 'Friends' was on. Maddie was laughing at one of Chandler's jokes. Scully walked in and saw Maddie sitting on the floor. She gawked at her a little. Maddie gawked right back.  
  
"Is there a reason why you're staring at me?" She raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Um, Nothing, your make-up surprised me a bit. Its dark"  
  
She laughed "You sound like my mom. If this doesn't frighten Buena Tierra I don't know what will. Anyway, what's up?"  
  
"Well, I'm not in the mood for pizza and Chinese, so we wanted to go out, are you in?"  
  
"Sure, where to?"  
  
"I don't know, I left that as Mulder's decision "  
  
"Cool," She got up. they left shortly after.  
  
Mulder picked out a Tex-Mex restaurant in Buena Tierra. Upon walking in, the family got many strange looks from the people eating. Maddie decided she wanted to provoke them and stuck out her tongue. A mother and her children pointed. She raised a fist, tempted to give the finger. A hand stopped her.  
  
"Maddie, you don't have to go that far." Scully chided.  
  
"Sorry, I can't stand people like this."  
  
"Be careful though. We still have to protect you if something happens"  
  
"I know. I think I can handle it" The waitress came to the table and they stopped the conversation.  
  
They all placed their orders. Scully got veggie and cheese quesadillas, Mulder got steak fajitas and Maddie got burritos. Regardless of the dirty looks from other customers they had a good time. Mulder cracked cheesy jokes that Scully and Maddie took turns quipping at. They finished their meals and paid the check. It was dark out when they walked through the parking lot.  
  
"I guess we spent more time there than we thought" Scully said as she opened a door.  
  
"It was fun though. I can't believe how freaked out these people get by a little black makeup and miss matched shoes" Maddie laughed "Its getting to be very weird."  
  
"Not weird enough to prove anything though" Mulder sighed. The drive home continued in a comfortable silence. They all had different things on their minds, Scully dozed off for a few seconds here and there. They pulled up into the driveway. They got out of the mini-van. Maddie dropped her cell phone on the ground as she got out. She didn't notice until they got to the front door. Mulder and Scully continued to go in the house as she walked back to the driveway. She bent down and saw her phone under the van. She reached for it. Mulder and Scully heard her scream, and ran to wear she was supposed to be. Panic rose in Mulder's chest as he saw that no one was there.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~--~-~-~  
  
Oh gosh! I think I left you hanging! What did everyone think? Please leave me a review.  
  
-NikKa 


	4. Get It Together

Deceiving Appearances Chapter Four - Get it Together Author - Nicole Disclaimer - Mulder and Scully don't belong to me. Maddie does, feel free to borrow her, just let me know first.  
  
I'm so sorry about the long wait for this one. I'm on vacation right now and I'm busier than I am in school. How ironic? Anyway, I had a review e- mailed to me from a friend saying "Nicole, this would never, ever happen. You're going Mary-Sue on us!" Normally that might have offended me given Mary-Sue isn't my style. But, I started this story in 7th grade (wow that seems so long ago) and I stumbled upon it and thought it was cute. Excuse my nostalgia and don't continue if you're into only insanely realistic stories. But when were the X-files ever insanely realistic? Ha, here you go. -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Maddie tried to scream but couldn't. She was in a state of shock, she felt someone strong carrying her tiny frame with little effort, all the while keeping one hand over her mouth. He clamped her jaw so she couldn't bite. She knew how to protect herself if in the case of abduction but the harder she tried to free herself the tighter the man held her. He moved his thumb underneath her nose, she couldn't breath she tried to move her head. Terror took over her body, she felt as if her lungs were going to explode. 'This is how I'm going to die, on my fist case.' She felt the desperate urge to get free, she was completely unable to move 'They'll never find me, I don't even know where I am.' She then noticed her hand was partially free, he was holding her arm so she couldn't swing but she could get her bracelets off, to leave a clue. Dizzy spells began to overcome her but she managed to get two bracelets off a small black one with plastic spikes and a little gold bracelet with MLD monogrammed on it, a gift her Mother gave her when she got into college. 'Please help me get through this Raysi' she mentally pleaded before everything became dark.  
  
She came to in a musty basement. She looked around she was alone, she felt for her gun, gone. Her cell phone was also gone. She unzipped a pocket on the inside of her pant leg, her badge was still there.  
  
"Thank god" she sighed "What is going on here?" She gasped as she looked around, the basement was full of pictures of people her age dressed the same way she did, with hair colors and various piercings. Each picture had a red slash through it. She continued to search the room, she came across a picture of her. It was taken the day she walked to the mall.  
  
"I never walked by this house though," she said out loud.  
  
"You didn't have too, I've been keeping an eye on you ever since you came along" The deep voice startled Maddie she turned on her heels and walked over to him.  
  
"Who are you? Why did you take me? Why did you take them?" She wasn't ready to blow her cover yet.  
  
"I can't tell you who I am. I took you all because I like a peaceful neighborhood. You devil children obviously don't know how to keep a neighborhood reputable" This man was far from sane. Maddie gently cut him off.  
  
"I'm sorry if I've disturbed you sir, I try to respect all of my neighbors."  
  
"No you didn't"  
  
"What did I do wrong?" She questioned in the gentlest tone possible.  
  
The man took a small black bag out of his pocket. He placed two items on the table a piece of already chewed gum and a crumpled up receipt. Maddie stared blankly at the items. 'What is he getting at?' She thought back for a minute, she had spit out a piece of gum  
  
"That receipt must have fallen out of my bag or something. I'm sorry"  
  
"You see, you littered. You left your trash in my neighborhood." He was so soft spoken; it irked Maddie. "And for that I must get rid of you, like the other different ones" He lifted a gun out of his jacket. Maddie looked at it, it was her FBI issue gun. 'He should know who he's messing with first' she swallowed the lump forming in her throat.  
  
"This is not 'Thunder on Sycamore Street,' you can't remove people from a neighborhood because they're different. Oh and by the way, FBI! Put the gun down!" She flashed her badge in hope that he'd back down.  
  
"Oh, that little badge won't do you much. I have your gun Miss. Soleil." He smiled wryly. 'Wonderful, I get to deal with this by myself' She thought.  
  
She raised her voice "Read the badge you illiterate bastard! Its Madison." The large man then lunged at her throwing her to the ground. She screamed in a mix of shock and pain.  
  
"Alright, Madison. Stop yelling and maybe I will spare you." He was still eerily calm.  
  
"I'm not afraid of you. My partners will find you and arrest you. I assure you of that" She kept in mind not to call him any more names. She stopped to nurse a throbbing pain in her arm. Her arm and been sliced open by a knife on the ground.  
  
"Oh but how? I have your little cell phone." He threw it on the ground, it broke into a million pieces. His strength was uncanny. He bent down to pick up the broken pieces. Maddie looked down at the knife 'This is my chance.' She crouched down and grabbed it as swiftly as possible. She went for his leg. His hand grabbed the blade. It sliced him but he showed no pain.  
  
"Now Madison, that wasn't being a respectful neighbor was it?" Maddie backed up against a wall unsure of his next move.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Mulder and Scully ran fast. Mulder wasn't going to take the chance of losing a partner. He wasn't sure where to go. 'My instincts are my only hope this time.' He checked behind him, Scully was panting, he stopped to let her catch her breath.  
  
"Mulder, She could be up any of these streets or in a car long gone. We don't know!" She said in between breaths.  
  
"She isn't going to be found if we don't keep looking" He grabbed her arm and lead her up a street. They didn't know the neighborhood all that well and seemed to be turning on every street corner. Scully was unsure of Mulder's lead but decided to keep running 'He is right 98 percent of the time, weather I like to believe it or not' They starting running up a small incline. Rain was coming down, this made running that much harder. Mulder pressed on though and Scully followed, then she noticed something familiar in a puddle she had dodged.  
  
"Mulder! Look at this." She picked up the bracelet and ran to catch up to him. 'She was here, he was right. Once again' She smiled at him. "It's the bracelet she wore to the restaurant earlier."  
  
"She's a smart girl, there's another one right here. It has her initials engraved. She knew she had to leave something"  
  
They continued to walk up the street keeping a brisk pace. Mulder kept his eyes on the ground scanning for any more hints. Scully glanced at him, his face was stricken with concern. 'He barely knows this girl and he cares so much. Its amazing' She wanted to say something but now wasn't the time. Maddie's life was at stake. She looked around for more hints. Mulder looked at her while she was studying the ground. 'We're going to find her. We have to, I'm done with these cases going wrong. It's not fair to Scully, she's seen too much.' The thought was interrupted by a loud screech. They both became very alert.  
  
"It came from that house" Mulder whispered and they ran towards the house. They quietly walked around the house. They heard Maddie yelling and something break.  
  
"We have to get in there, they're in the basement" Mulder noticed the storm cellar wasn't locked from the outside. He put his gun in his holster and tried to open it. "It's locked"  
  
"I'll go try to get in the front door" Scully began to walk as Mulder began looking through the basement windows.  
  
"No need, I'm getting in there now, he's holding a gun up to her." He began to carefully pry open a window, just enough to get his gun in.  
  
"Mulder be careful, if you don't hit him right. He'll shoot her and you"  
  
"Sir! Put the gun down!" He yelled. The man looked up and shot at the window, which Mulder had luckily gotten out of the way of.  
  
"I'll get him later, first you freak" He held the gun up and someone pushed him. He still shot before hitting the ground. Maddie felt a shooting pain in the left side of her collarbone. She watched Scully handcuff the man and saw Mulder ran over to her.  
  
"What happened?" She noticed the blood on her shirt. "Am I going to die?"  
  
"No Maddie, you be fine. The paramedics will be here any minute."  
  
"There's pictures of all the kids he took. He's obsessive he got me because I spat out some gum on the ground" She laughed painfully "Kind of pathetic isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah, it is"  
  
"Go find out why he did this" He nodded and walked over to the man. Scully knelt next to Maddie and tried to control the blood pouring from her chest.  
  
Mulder approached the man who was now sitting against a wall with caution. "Sir, I'm Agent Mulder with the FBI. Care to tell me your name and why you're killing off every 'freak' in the neighborhood?"  
  
"Mitchell Herman. They make the neighborhood look bad. Just like you" he emphasized his remark by spitting in Mulder's face. 'This man is obviously mentally unstable' Mulder wiped his face and decided to put his degree in psychology to work.  
  
"Mr. Herman, if you could tell me where you left the bodies of the other children are we could make sure the neighborhood never looks bad again"  
  
"You'll have to give me a little more than that, Agent"  
  
"Alright, if you tell me, I'll close any store that sells those clothes you don't approve of"  
  
"They're buried, under the porch."  
  
The paramedics pulled up, followed by the police. They put the Mitchell into cruiser and Maddie in the ambulance. Mulder and Scully followed her by car to the hospital.  
  
"Nice save Scully, had you not pushed her she would've died"  
  
"Well if you hadn't of yelled it wouldn't had held his attention long enough for me to get there"  
  
"Well you spotting the bracelet assisted immensely in us finding the house"  
  
Scully smiled "We make a good team" She reached over and held his hand.  
  
"Yeah, we do"  
  
They arrived at St. John's Hospital shortly after. They found Maddie in a private room watching TV.  
  
"Before I was an agent they never put me in my own room" she smiled "Hi guys, um, thanks for saving me"  
  
Mulder replied "Thanks for finding our kidnapper"  
  
"What are your injuries Maddie?" Scully questioned  
  
"Nothing as severe as I thought. The bullet did break my collarbone but its not like I've never done that before. Luckily it stopped before hitting my rotator cuff so there's only some minor muscle damage which will be fine in a few weeks. I'll be good as new within three weeks."  
  
"You're very lucky"  
  
"I know. And this may sound like the Morphine talking but I think my sister saved me. Really, Right before I passed out when Herman tried to suffocate me I asked Raysi to help me and she did"  
  
Mulder smiled at her innocence, "Yeah, you have a guardian angel"  
  
Maddie yawned, "Thanks for everything guys but I'm really tired. You should both get some sleep too."  
  
"Alright Maddie, we'll be back tomorrow morning." Scully smiled at her and they walked out of the room. Mulder gently closed the door as Maddie fell asleep.  
  
"That was sweet Mulder. You're usually not the religious type"  
  
"Well Scully, she just got shot I'm not going to push my theories on her" He smiled  
  
"Well what do you say? We go back tonight and begin the investigation tomorrow?"  
  
"I'm not going back to that neighborhood. There's a Days Inn down the street, how's that sound?"  
  
"Great. Anything sounds better than Arcadia's clone." They walked out of the hospital taking solace in the temporary calm of the situation.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Well there you go, chapter four. I hope I still have some readers left since the little hiatus I took in between chapters. Please leave me some reviews. They'll motivate me to write chapter five.  
  
-Nikka 


	5. See What's Happening

Deceiving Appearances  
  
Chapter Five - See what's happening  
  
Author - Nikka  
  
Disclaimer - I don't own Mulder or Scully. Maybe someday I will.  
  
Yay! I've finally got chapter five done. Thank you all for the reviews. I'm sorry about the wait. I've had some writer's block with this chapter. I hope it's not too cheesy. Please read and review!  
  
-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-  
  
The Next Morning.  
  
Scully woke up in her hotel room to the sound of an alarm going off, 6:30 just like she had set it. Today was going to be busy. They had to get their belongings out of the house, check on Maddie and get to the crime scene by 9:00. She sighed 'This is going to be rough' She was dreading finding all those children. She shook off her doubts and got ready.  
  
Mulder walked down the hall to Scully's door. A sudden rush of discomfort ran over his body, he shook his head briskly unsure of what he was feeling. 'We make a good team' ran through his head over and over again. He swallowed hard to ward the awkward feeling away. He knocked on the door and Scully opened.  
  
"Ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah." She bit her lip and shrugged.  
  
"Something wrong?"  
  
"No, I'm fine" She walked towards the front desk Mulder sighed and followed.  
  
They reached Buena Tierra about 10 minutes later. Mulder and Scully packed quickly. Scully went to the car to load her luggage into the trunk. A familiar woman approached her. Sandra Foreman.  
  
"Hi Sandra. How are you?" She smiled nervously.  
  
"Hey Carmen, I'm good. I heard about what happened. So you all are FBI agents?"  
  
She paused for a second not sure of what to say "Yes. Actually my name is Dana Scully. my partner Agent Mulder and I came here to investigate why children have been going missing. The girl Madison, is a 16 year old child prodigy. she was perfect for the part and I guess it worked."  
  
"Wow. Yeah, we've known about that monster for a long time. We never knew who it was though. Whoever they were got my son, Tyler five years ago. We never knew who it was. That's why the community is so cautious about individuals. we know what's going to happen." She looked at the ground and sighed. "So how badly was Madison hurt?"  
  
"She was very lucky. the bullet got lodged in her collarbone so no other damage was done."  
  
"That's good. Well I must be going now, thank-you so much for coming here to help us. I'll be able to rest easier. My daughter can buy the spiked bracelets she wanted so badly."  
  
"Not a problem. It's my job." She smiled and walked inside. Mulder was nowhere to be found. She checked the rooms in the house at last finding him in Maddie's room. He was reading a little composition notebook labeled "Maddie is English for Blatantly Offensive!" Scully shook her head 'Maddie humor' she thought.  
  
"Mulder! Don't go through her stuff!"  
  
He looked up a little surprised "well I wasn't sure what to do with her stuff. Luckily she didn't unpack many things, except her CD player and this notebook that was lying open on the floor.. She wrote about us."  
  
"Well, still its not right. what did she say?"  
  
"Here's where I left off 'Today was uneventful to say the most. I went out to the mall for a little while with Cami. It was nice to see her, but that's not what I'm caring about at the moment. This probably sounds so juvenile from me but what can I say? I'm finding this cute. kind of. Mulder and Scully are two of the nicest people I have ever encountered. They have some issues though'" Mulder gave an offended look and then continued "'They're both very experienced and some damn good agents. They're idiots though. they're completely in-' Oh" Mulder looked at the journal in surprise.  
  
"Oh what?" Scully raised her eyebrows.  
  
"Nothing.Nothing at all, your right we shouldn't be reading this." He felt nervous. Scully's reaction to Maddie's written word wouldn't be good.  
  
"Well you got to see it so I should too" She hastily grabbed the notebook out of his hand and continued to read it to herself.  
  
'They're idiots though. they're completely in love. She kissed him the other night and then ran out saying she couldn't handle a relationship. she so could. From what I've seen they've practically had one since they started working together. I'm going to leave this out in the open somewhere. so if either Mulder or Scully is reading this I'm saying "get on with it!" wow I sound retarded. I'm going to bed'  
  
Scully turned red. "Um. wow"  
  
"Yeah. I guess, she sees a lot."  
  
"Maybe more then we see"  
  
"I think she might be right" He smiled "Well on my side at least"  
  
Her eyes widened "Mulder."  
  
"Scully, wait. I can't deny this anymore. I want to be with you, I don't care what the Bureau thinks. hell they think we're together anyway. I'll do anything for you. You've meant the world to me for years now. You're always the first thing on my mind. I love you. and you should know that"  
  
Scully's eyes began to water she wasn't sure how to react. 'He loves me. He loves me? This isn't completely rational but I just cant hold it back any longer'  
  
"Mulder. I'm not sure why I'm afraid to say this but I love you too"  
  
Mulder stood up and walked over to her. He stared into her ice blue eyes, which locked with his. He leant in and gave her a gentle kiss. She responded with a much deeper one. What was only a few moments seemed like an eternity. She broke the kiss and looked up at him and smiled.  
  
"You're not going to walk out in an angry rush again are you?" He smiled  
  
She smiled brightly back, something he didn't see very often. "Not angry and not alone. but we do need to get to the hospital and the crime scene" She held his hand "Ready?"  
  
"Definitely"  
  
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
They reached the hospital and went to Maddie's room. Scully gave her a bag of extra clothes.  
  
"You packed my stuff?" Maddie asked  
  
"Yeah all of it" Mulder smiled  
  
"Oh, I get it. The notebook." She shifted her eyes down. "Did you read it" She chuckled nervously.  
  
"Yes. You're quite the opinionated writer. I enjoy your opinions though" Scully smiled as Maddie caught on immediately.  
  
She squealed like any girl her age would "You guys made up! I'm so happy for you! Congratulations I knew you would." She smiled brightly.  
  
Mulder had a slight smile, he noticed she had no IV's hooked up. "Thanks Mad, when are you being released?"  
  
"My doctor said I could leave today I just can't do any heavy lifting. he said I could still go investigate with Scully and you. I really don't want to miss anymore of this case."  
  
"Alright. well I think there is a suit in this bag. We have to be there at 9:00 so go get ready, we'll go get you checked out" They walked out of the room leaving a thrilled Maddie to get dressed.  
  
Maddie met them at the desk dressed in a dark brown skirt and jacket suit. A far stretch from the outfits she had worn over the course of the week. A doctor came over to talk to Mulder and Scully.  
  
"Madison is very lucky, her collarbone will completely recover, she might be in a little pain from where we removed the bullet so I gave her a prescription of Tylenol with Codeine. Just make sure she doesn't do much heavy lifting or driving. I'm not sure if she listened to me, she's very ambitious"  
  
"You have to be in this line of work," Mulder said with a nod.  
  
The doctor handed Maddie some papers to bring home and they left the hospital. They arrived at the accident scene a little before 9:00. Scully walked towards a police officer and flashed her badge. The officer seemed very relieved to see her.  
  
"Agents. We're so glad you came"  
  
"Did you recover the bodies?" Mulder questioned.  
  
"I guess you could say that. I'd like you to take a look at this" He lead the agents to the backyard. They reached an area that looked like it could have only come out of a horror movie.  
  
Maddie stood in shock "That could've been me"  
  
"Oh my god" Scully looked up at Mulder whose face was a mix of horror and rage.  
  
He said in a low voice "That sick bastard"  
  
-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Alright, I know that Chapter has little to do with the case. but I've gotten so many requests to resolve the Mulder and Scully problems. Honestly I had no clue how to. Hopefully this chapter was somewhat enjoyable. Before I let you go I received a request to write what songs my chapter titles came from. If you didn't know, all my chapters are from songs. so before I get sued here they are.  
  
Chapter one Déjà vu is from "Déjà vu" by Ann-Drogeny (woohoo! My friends band)  
  
Chapter two Don't be fooled is from "Jenny from the Block" by J.Lo  
  
Chapter three Sour Girl is "Sour Girl" by Stone Temple Pilots  
  
Chapter four Get it together and chapter five See what's happening are from "Get it Together" by the Beastie Boys  
  
All right that was pointless but there you go. Anyone who can name the song from the chapter title in upcoming chapters gets a gold star!  
  
Thanks for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated!  
  
-Nikka 


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